Farmers lament as floods wreck havoc on farmlands in Borno

NO fewer than 5,000 hectares of rice farms have been destroyed in Dusman/Bulamatari, Fariya, Zabamari, kachallari and Gongulang communities of Jere Local Government Area of Borno State.

The rice farm sits on a total of 10,373 hectares of land in the five locations.

The Managing Director of Koila Agro Allied Nigeria, Mrs Zara Abba Jawa, who disclosed this to journalists on Friday, explained that rice farmers in that area were worst hit by the flood.

“We cultivated a total of 10,373 in the five communities which, in Dusman/Bulamatari, we cultivated 2, 431 hectares; Fariya, 2, 700 hectares, Zabarmari,1,642 hectares, kachallari,1,600 and 2,000 Gongulang.

”In Dusman/Bulamatari, 431 hectares were flooded while 317 hectares of rice farm were lost to fire disaster, Fariya, 1,400 hectares, Zabarmari, 420 hectares, kachallari, 1,149, while1,600 were flooded in Gongulang.

Jawa, while explaining to the team members of Bank of Agriculture (BoA), Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), company staff and a consultant who conducted an assessment visit to the affected areas, said millions of Naira had been lost to the flood.

It was gathered that the visiting officers and others used a canoe during the supervision visit to carry out the exercise.

Speaking to journalists, she said: “On October 30 and 31, members including BOA, NAIC, company staff and a consultant conducted an assessment visit to the affected areas. The team discovered that out of the total 10,373 hectares about 5,000 were destroyed by flood.

“The visiting officers and others used a canoe during the supervision visit to carry out the exercise.

“During the visit, the farms were flooded and the crops totally submerged, thus recommending considering insurance claims”, Jawa added.

While lamenting that 10,373 farmers received inputs, Jawa noted that the flood would affect their drive towards ensuring sufficiency of rice production and food security in the country.